A quick plea deal best for all involved

Since the tragic shooting in Parkland, the attorney for the shooter has attempted to enter into a plea agreement with Broward State Attorney Mike Satz, offering to plead guilty to all 17 counts of first-degree murder in exchange for an automatic sentence of life without a chance for parole.

Satz has not made a decision on this offer. However, he has said: “This certainly is the type of case the death penalty was designed for.”

I am hopeful that Satz does not see this as an opportunity to advance his career with a high-profile murder trial whose conclusion is all but assured.

The survivors of this event will be best served by a quick conclusion to this nightmare.

The students who are currently trying to assimilate this experience need to talk to professional counselors and each other, and then put it behind them as quickly as possible. A trial will guarantee this experience will become the focal part of their lives for years to come.

The families of the victims also need to be able to move on as soon as possible as best they can, lest their lives also get sucked into a spiral around the shooter and the slowly moving justice system.

A quick plea deal is the best chance for people to regain some normalcy back into their lives in the shortest time frame. It would be an additional, cruel tragedy if the prosecutor did not do this.

It’s a shame the court can’t include the provision that the murderer’s name never is spoken or written again.

JAMES PEARSON, PORT ST. LUCIE